Page 43 - Iran

Indian pharma exports to Iran decline thanks to its lower rupee reserves

Indian pharma exports to Iran have declined from $205.1 million in FY20 to $59.14 million in FY23. Iran's rupee reserves have depleted as India ceased oil imports from the country in mid-2019

US should ease sanctions to showi t wants to return to nuclear deal: Iran

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said Wednesday that relations with the United States can move forward if the Biden administration demonstrates it wants to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, and a first step should be easing sanctions. Raisi told a news conference that the Americans have reached out through several channels saying they wish to have a dialogue, but we do believe that it must be accompanied by action. So talk alone is not going to do it, Raisi said. But action on sanctions can be a solid foundation for continuing discussions. The Iranian leader added: We have not left the table of negotiations. Raisi reiterated that the American withdrawal from the 2015 agreement, aimed at reining in Iran's nuclear programme, trampled on US commitments including on sanctions. Then-President Donald Trump had unilaterally pulled the US out of the accord in 2018, restoring crippling sanctions. Iran began breaking the terms a year later, including by enriching uranium to higher levels, and

Iran's prez urges US to demonstrate it wants to return to 2015 nuclear deal

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said Tuesday that his country will never give up its right to have peaceful nuclear energy and urged the United States to demonstrate in a verifiable fashion that it wants to return to the 2015 nuclear deal. Addressing the annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, Raisi said the American withdrawal from the deal trampled on US commitments and was an inappropriate response to Iran's fulfilment of its commitments. Then-President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the accord in 2018, restoring crippling sanctions. Iran began breaking the terms a year later and formal talks in Vienna to try to restart the deal collapsed in August 2022. Iran has long denied ever seeking nuclear weapons and continues to insist that its programme is entirely for peaceful purposes points Raisi reiterated Tuesday telling the high-level meeting that nuclear weapons have no place in the defensive doctrine and the military doctrine of the country. But UN

Iranian prez denies sending drones, other weapons to Russia to use in war

Iran's president on Monday denied his country had sent drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine, even as the United States accuses Iran of not only providing the weapons but helping Russia build a plant to manufacture them. "We are against the war in Ukraine," President Ebrahim Raisi said as he met with media executives on the sidelines of the world's premier global conference, the high-level leaders' meeting at the UN General Assembly. The Iranian leader spoke just hours after five Americans who had been held in Iranian custody arrived in Qatar, freed in a deal that saw President Joe Biden agree to unlock nearly USD 6 billion in frozen Iranian assets. Known as a hard-liner, Raisi seemingly sought to strike a diplomatic tone. He reiterated offers to mediate the Russia-Ukraine war despite being one of the Kremlin's strongest backers. And he suggested that the just-concluded deal with the United States that led to the prisoner exchange and assets release could "help build trust"

Iranian fans flock Cristiano Ronaldo's hotel after he arrives in Tehran

Hundreds of soccer fans stormed into a hotel in Tehran on Monday, hoping for a glimpse of star player Cristiano Ronaldo after he arrived with his Saudi teammates ahead of a game. Chanting Ronaldo, Ronaldo, the fans pushed past police, filling the corridors and public spaces of the Espians Palace Hotel. Ronaldo arrived on his first visit to Iran with the Saudi football club Al Nassr, which is set to play Iran's Persepolis in Tehran on Sept. 19. The return game will be played in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Nov. 27. Ronaldo was the first of several big-name players to accept lavish contracts to play for Saudi teams. The oil-rich kingdom is spending billions of dollars to try to transform itself into a sports and entertainment powerhouse. The Asian Champions League games are made possible by the restoration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia following an agreement brokered by China earlier this year. The longtime rivals had severed ties in 2016 after an angry crowd

UN watchdog slams Iran for barring inspectors from monitoring programme

The UN nuclear watchdog harshly criticised Iran on Saturday for effectively barring several of its most experienced inspectors from monitoring the country's disputed programme. The strongly worded statement came amid longstanding tensions between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is tasked with monitoring a nuclear programme that Western nations have long suspected is aimed at eventually developing a nuclear weapon. Iran insists the program is peaceful. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the IAEA, said Iran had withdrawn the designation of "several experienced Agency inspectors," barring them from taking part in the monitoring of its programme. "Iran has effectively removed about one third of the core group of the Agency's most experienced inspectors designated for Iran, he said. Grossi went on to strongly condemn this disproportionate and unprecedented unilateral measure, saying it constitutes an unnecessary blow to an already strained relationship between the

Iran warns Israel that it will face retaliation for its airstrike on Syria

Iran's foreign minister condemned Wednesday an Israeli airstrike on the international airport of the Syrian city of Aleppo, saying such attacks would eventually face retaliation. Hossein Amirabdollahian made his comments during a news conference in the Syrian capital, Damascus, where he was beginning a two-day visit. On Monday, an Israeli airstrike damaged Aleppo's airport, putting the runway out of service. The airport has been targeted several times this year, including two attacks in March that also put it out of service. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. Often the strikes target Syrian military forces or Iranian-backed groups. Tehran has been a main backer of the Syrian government since a 2011 uprising turned into full-blown civil war. It has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to Syria, helping to tip the balance of power in the favour of .

Brics: All you need to know about the global partnership and latest updates

The members countries announced the expansion of the grouping by adding six new countries - Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - into the fold

Tanker believed to hold sanctioned Iran oil begins offloading near Texas

An American-owned oil tanker long suspected of carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil began offloading its cargo near Texas late Saturday, tracking data showed, even as Tehran has threatened to target shipping in the Persian Gulf over it. The fate of the cargo aboard the Suez Rajan has become mired in the wider tensions between the US and the Islamic Republic, even as Tehran and Washington work toward a trade of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets in South Korea for the release of five Iranian-Americans held in Tehran. Already, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has warned that those involved in offloading the cargo should expect to be struck back. The US Navy has increased its presence steadily in recent weeks in the Mideast, deploying the troop-and-aircraft-carrying USS Bataan and considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz to stop Iran from seizing additional ships. Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press

PM Modi, Iran President discuss ways to realise Chabahar port's potential

The two leaders reiterated their commitment to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, including to realise the full potential of Chabahar Port as a connectivity hub

PM Modi speaks to Iranian president Raisi to discuss bilateral ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and discussed matters of bilateral and regional importance, according to a statement. The two leaders reiterated their commitment to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, including realising the full potential of Chabahar Port as a connectivity hub. Modi highlighted that the India-Iran relationship is underpinned by close historic and civilisational connections, including strong people-to-people contact. The two leaders also discussed cooperation at multilateral forums, including expansion of BRICS, and looked forward to their meeting on the margins of the forthcoming BRICS summit in South Africa.

Would welcome steps that Iran takes to de-escalate nuclear threats: Blinken

He, however, also clarified that the process of bringing back US citizens detained in Iran is a "completely different" matter

Water Wars: Conflict Between Iran and Afghanistan

Afghanistan and Iran are locked in a water dispute over the Helmand River, a critical source of drinking water, irrigation and fishing for both countries.

Gunman opens fire at Shia shrine in Iran, leaves 1 dead, 8 injured

A gunman opened fire Sunday night at a prominent shrine in southern Iran, killing one person and wounding eight others in an attack that followed another assault there months earlier, authorities said. Officials offered no immediate motive for the attack in the city of Shiraz at Shah Cheragh, which draws Shiite pilgrims to its domed mosque and the tomb of a prominent member of the faith from its earliest days. However, Iran has faced attacks in the past from the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group, who view Shiites as heretics. Iran also faces lingering unrest and economic turmoil amid tensions with the West. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Ismail Qezelsofla, a deputy governor for security in the country's Fars province, as offering the casualty toll. Fars province Gov. Mohammad Hadi Imanieh told Iranian state television that a single gunman carried out the attack and later was detained by security forces. He did not offer any motive for the attack in his brief ...

Amid Afghanistan-Iran water dispute, Taliban prepares suicide bombers

After two decades fighting the US, Taliban leaders now find themselves sparring with neighbors as the realities of global warming hit home

Iran proposes long jail terms, AI surveillance in harsh new hijab law

Experts said the Bill, which has yet to be passed, was a reminder to Iranians that the regime will not back down from its stance on the hijab despite the country's enormous protests last year

Iran releases 8 Indian fishermen detained by its force: MoS Muraleedharan

Eight Indian fishermen detained by the Iranian authorities for allegedly entering their waters without permission have been released by the Middle East nation, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Wednesday. In a Malayalam Facebook post, Muraleedharan said natives of Anchuthengu in Kerala are also among the fishermen who were released by Iran recently. The minister said the information about the fishermen's release was given by the Ambassador of Iran to India, Iraj Elahi, who met him at his office in New Delhi on Wednesday. Muraleedharan thanked the Government of Iran for the release of the Indian fishermen. He also sought intervention for the early release of the remaining fishermen. On June 29, Muraleedharan had met the families of seven fishermen from Kerala at a church nearby Anchuthengu and assured them of all possible efforts to release them. Out of seven fishermen from Kerala, five are from Anchuthengu in Thiruvananthapuram district, and two are fr

Iran bans film festival over poster featuring actress without hijab

Iranian authorities enforce ban citing violation of hijab law; cultural event halted amid ongoing dress code protests

US to send more warships to Gulf to tackle Iran's efforts to seize ships

The US is sending additional warships and thousands of Marines to the Middle East to increase security in the wake of Iranian attempts to seize commercial ships there. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday approved the deployment of the USS Bataan amphibious readiness group and the 26th Marine Expeditional Unit to the Gulf region, according to US officials. The readiness group consists of three ships, including the Bataan, an amphibious assault ship. An expeditional unit usually consists of about 2,500 Marines. In an announcement, US Central Command said the deployment will provide "even greater flexibility and maritime capability in the region. The announcement did not name the ships, but US officials detailed the units involved in the deployment on condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements. Along with the Bataan, the group includes two other warships, the USS Mesa Verde and the USS Carter Hall. The group left Norfolk, Virginia, earlier this month. It was unclear ...

Israel quietly embeds AI systems in deadly military ops as tensions surge

Though the military won't comment on specific operations, officials say that it now uses an AI recommendation system that can crunch huge amounts of data to select targets for air strikes